My tax advice if you are able to comprehend my original posting, was to work with a good financial planner and or tax advisor.
I admitted that I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about finances but after starting to work with a good financial planner I’m learning things especially tax related that I knew little to nothing about.
The fact I can sell off stocks and mutual funds I’ve owned outside of retirement accounts, in one case a mutual fund I’ve bought in college 40 years ago and is now worth in the 6 figures, and owe no federal income taxes on it if my ordinary income is under $40,000 is one thing I have found. And that has nothing to do with age, I have no idea where anyone got the idea I was claiming that was retirement related, age 35 or age 65 you owe no capital gains on selling appreciated assets if your income is under 40,000 for singles or 80,000 for a couple.
Everybody’s situation is different so getting advice from a bunch of people yapping on an internet site is not a prudent strategy. In my situation I have a lot of appreciated assets outside of retirement accounts, thus lots of capital gains, most people have most of their savings in 401Ks or IRAs which are different because withdrawals from them are ordinary income not capital gains. There’s no one size fits all so that is where these planners earn their fees, analyzing each clients situation and coming up with a plan.
So again, work with a planner or good tax advisor instead of asking know it alls on the internet or brother in laws or coworkers or the like.